Netherlands and Australia remain undefeated

Defending champion Netherlands thrashed Olympic gold medalist Germany 8-1 on Sunday, equaling the women's Champions Trophy record for a winning margin.

Australia followed its opening win over Germany with a 2-0 defeat of South Korea on Sunday to join the Netherlands at 2-0 in preliminaries.

No. 2-ranked Argentina had a 3-0 win over China, with both teams at 1-1 after two matches apiece. The Dutch scored first via Kim Lammers after 50 seconds and led 2-0 at halftime in the replay of the 2004 Athens Olympics final.

Saskia Fuch's round-the-back deflection in the 50th minute gave the Netherlands a 6-0 lead and Maartije Goderie made it 7-0 in the 62nd, before Maike Stockel angled a deflection into the roof of the net 15 seconds later to get one back for Germany. Fuch scored again in the 66th minute to finish it off.

Argentina rebounded from its 2-1 injury-time loss to Netherlands on Sunday with a convincing win over China. Maria de la Paz Hernandez turned in a cross from the right in the 14th minute for the Argentines and Maria D'elia and Alejandra Gulla added goals in the 58th and 64th minutes.

In the last game, second-half goals from Karen Smith and Nikki Hudson helped Australia fend off a determined Korean lineup. Hockeyroos goalkeeper Rachel Imison saved three penalty corners and produced another diving stop inside the last 10 minutes that turned the game back in Australia's favor.

Round-robin preliminaries continue Tuesday, with Netherlands against South Korea, Australia playing China and Germany facing Argentina. The top two teams after the first stage play off in next Sunday's final, AP reports.

A. A.